Seminar Marketing | Marketing Seminars and Promoting Your Own Events » seminar speakers

Casual or Formal Seminars

Scott Elder — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:01:06 +0000

When you do a seminar or event, one of your first things to decide is whether it should be formal or casual.

In my case, I NEVER do formal events. They don’t work for what I’m doing or my personality.

There isn’t a right or wrong answer to this question. BUT, you do have to decide. It will set the mood for the entire event.

I do events that are very hands on and “get it done” oriented. Having a formal event would defeat my purposes. It would make people constrained to relax and get to work.

If you do an event that is geared to a very affluent group and has to do with a sensitive topic like money, it MAY be wise to consider doing a formal event.

What does that term mean? It has to do with both how people are dressed as well the way you to talk to and interact with your attendees. For some topics people will feel more comfortable with a more formal approach.

Think about this early in your event. After you decide it will dramatically affect the approach you take. Make an incorrect choice here and you risk having the folks at the event feel uncomfortable.

This isn’t the MOST important element of doing a seminar, but it is significant enough to give consideration.

Miking Seminar Events

Scott Elder — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:01:30 +0000

One of the things that annoys the CRAP out of me is when I get a recording of an event and people haven’t miked the audience properly.

Net result? I hear the question and then can’t hear the answer.

The solution for any savvy seminar promoter is to make sure that their are mics in the audience for people to use for their questions.

When the events first start, you’ll have to TRAIN people to wait for the mic before they start asking the question. Within a very short period of time, everyone will know that they should wait until they get a hold of the mic before they start firing their questions at you.

When you have a decent size group of people at one of your events, you’ll want to get some hand held wireless mics for this purpose.

Corded mis will work fine, but you’ll have to set them up on a stand on one or both sides of the room and then ask people to “go to the mic” when they have a question.

Either way you do it, make SURE that you get anyone asking a question ON MIC. If not, all of your participants AT the event and those listening to the recordings will be FRUSTRATED.

Choosing Outside Speakers

Scott Elder — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 07:01:24 +0000

Planning on doing an event? Thinking of considering using outside speakers? BE CAREFUL!

It could be the best or the worst decision you could ever make. I’ve been doing workshops for many years and I’ve had some DISASTERS in this area.

Here are few things you must do if you are going to use OUTSIDE speakers:

See them speak. I don’t care how good they look on paper, make sure you see them SPEAK. Preferably live. They can always make themselves look good on paper.
Ask for references. Sounds obvious, but very few people do it. DO IT.
Give them the rules of the game for you/your event and make them SIGN a written agreement. I had a guy promote a competing piece of software at MY event. I almost pulled him off stage.
Review what they will pitch and what the price points are. Make sure they are in line with what you or the other speakers will be promoting/selling.
Go with your gut. If they don’t feel like the right match, don’t use them.

Do these 5 things and you’re on the right track.

Seminar Attire

Scott Elder — Fri, 21 May 2010 07:01:59 +0000

I hate getting dressed up. It doesn’t matter what it is. I also think that greater learning can take place when people are in a more RELAXED mode.

That includes how they are dressed for your events.

I often threaten to cut off people’s ties if they show up wearing one at my events. That usually serves to make the point.

My primary concern when people are at my events is to give them the GREATEST AMOUNT OF LEARNING that time will allow. I suggest you adopt the same philosophy.

If you do your events at hotels, remember that the temperature is often unpredictable. That’s why I always encourage people to wear COMFORTABLE clothing and to make sure they bring a coat or sweater JUST IN CASE.

There have been few times when doing an event that the temperature has been “just right”. Even at a Ritz Carlton hotel!

I suggest you make sure your events are geared to learning and don’t turn into FASHION SHOWS.

Make this clear with any and all of your promotional material!

Opening and Closing Your Seminar

Scott Elder — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:01:03 +0000

In psychology, there is a term called the Primacy-Recency affect. This refers to the fact that people remember most what they saw first and last.

You need to start STRONG and end STRONGER!

Hopefully your entire event will be memorable, but when someone asks one of your attendees what they thought of your event, they will think back to how the event ended.

And how it started.

When you start putting your event together, think of how you will open and how you will close. There are NO two sections of your seminar or workshop that are more important.

If you’re looking for an example, go rent the video: The French Connection with Gene Hackman from back in the early 70s. Take note of how the film opens. This will give you an idea of how to start your event.

As for the close, make sure that do two things. First, give people a PLAN of ACTION for what they should do NOW to make things happen.

Second, give them something REALLY solid that you end with. Similar to how you started, hold back one KILLER idea until the very end. One that people will leave saying: “WOW, that one idea was worth attending the entire event!”

Seminar Event Moods

Scott Elder — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 07:01:57 +0000

Every event has a MOOD. Whether you like it or not, this is the case. The question is whether or not you will ORCHESTRATE this mood or will it EVOLVE without your influence.

I suggest you take control of this process. The wrong mood can really hurt you.

How do you create the mood at your event?

There are a number of components:

What music do you play? I remember going to an event a few years ago. The seminar leader really like hard rock. So do I but it was NOT appropriate for the event.

He tried to SHOE-HORN this genre of music into the event. It didn’t work.

The music you pick to play at your event is one of the components for the MOOD you create.

Are you trying to create an event which is FUN or SERIOUS. Sure there are plenty of points in between, but your event will LEAD in one direction or the other.

My own events tend towards the fun, not the serious. This works for ME because of how I am.

I suggest that you try and THINK about what kind of MOOD you’re trying to create at your event and make sure EVERYTHING you do contributes to making this THE MOOD that you are creating.

It’s not as important what the mood is. It is critical that it match your content and topic.

Make a conscious choice and stick with it! Make sure everything you do contributes to that mood.

Seminar Equipments: Rent or Buy?

Scott Elder — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:01:58 +0000

There is an old rule in the seminar business with regards to renting equipment. If you rent it 4 times you own it.

In the case of microphones, recording equipment, video cameras, it almost better to buy equipment if you think you’ll use it 4 or 5 times. Now with Ebay, you can always RESELL it when you’re done with it!

I’m not saying you should run out and buy all kinds of expensive equipment right away, but if you are going to be in this business for a while, you’ll want to OWN certain things.

I own my own amplifiers, mics, audio and video recorders as well as speakers. Since I do a lot of seminars, this makes sense for me.

I highly recommend that you buy your equipment from a reputable company that has a good return policy – JUST IN CASE!!

For years, I have been using the folks at BHPhoto.com.

They are extremely knowledgeable and will give you plenty of advise and information by phone. Just give them a call.

Don’t buy until you’re sure you’ll be doing enough events to justify it, but when you’re sure you will, BUY IMMEDIATELY. You will SAVE money!!!

Opening and Closing your Seminar Event

Scott Elder — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:01:36 +0000

In psychology, there is a term called the Primacy-Recency affect. This refers to the fact that people remember most what they saw first and last.

You need to start STRONG and end STRONGER!

Hopefully your entire event will be memorable, but when someone asks one of your attendees what they thought of your event, they will think back to how the event ended.

And how it started.

When you start putting your event together, think of how you will open and how you will close. There are NO two sections of your seminar or workshop that are more important.

As for the close, make sure that do two things. First, give people a PLAN of ACTION for what they should do NOW to make things happen.

Speaker Training: Making a Smooth Product Pitch

Scott Elder — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:28:29 +0000

OK, with the convention products delivered, it’s time for you to change hats from convention leader to product pitch person. There are heaps of ways that seminar corporations teach about this but the genuine knowledge comes from experience! After twenty-five years ( and millions of bucks in convention product sales ) these are some of my thoughts about how convention speakers should best tack this. When I was doing conventions for CareerTrack they maintained that I follow their system of transitioning from the convention to the pitch. They recommended that I do this song and dance that made it look like smooth flow from content to sales spiel. For the most part I did not listen to them! Transition from Display to Product Pitch When I’m able to the point at which I would like to let folk know about my products that are for sale, I say : Ok, people, now’s the time for my two- minute commercial. I never try and slip the pitch in. Folks are too smart for that to work. Everybody knows you are making an attempt to sell them. So tell them. Don’t BS them. Timing of the Product Pitch The length of your program decides where the pitch should happen. If you are doing a show of less than 2 hours, pitch when you have about ten percent of your material left to supply.
If you are doing a three-hour presentation with lots of content, you can pitch right before your break which should be booked halfway thru. If you are doing an one-day convention, pitch just before lunch.
The earliest you must ever pitch is 1/2 way thru an event.
This gives you the chance to establish credibility with your audience. Making the Pitch Professionally When to Display Your Products Don’t display your products before the event gets started. If you do, folk will be braced for the pitch before it even comes. Keep your products up in front of the room until you pitch. Only after you’ve pitched should you move the products out from behind a curtain or out from under the table and display them. Never do it before you have pitched but it’s OK to hold them up and show them in the pitch. Picking Up and Referring to Product During Convention During your convention, make a valid excuse to physically pick up a number of of your products. As an example, you can find a wish to look something up in one of the manuals. Do not do this several times or twice. Try and use this system for greatest impact after being asked a question .
Should you’ve got a Visible in Your Display For Your Products? Some folks will put up a visible help, frequently a copy of the order sheet, to help them pitch their products. I typically do not do this. My proposal is that you test it. If you use plenty of other visuals, it makes more sense that you would use one for your product display.
There isn’t any way to grasp what the decisive answer is to this ques- tion till you test. Testing will help you figure out what works best.
Don’t Show Your Video If you sell any videos, don’t give into the unavoidable enticement to show them or maybe excerpts from them. All it can do is hurt you.
If you have established credibility they’re going to buy without seeing it. Showing the video will only give them a reason not to purchase. the videos had better be good or you will get them back. Don’t Sell Your Book! That is right, I announced, Don’t sell your book. Why? It’s your lowest- priced item ( or one of them ). Folks who feel some type of requirement to get something from you’ll be able to do so without spending any serious cash on your real content products. I always tell folks who ask if they can purchase my book, I am sorry, but I only bring enough books to the convention to provide as bonuses to folk who buy one of the bigger packages. You can get the book online at Amazon.com or special order it through your local book- store if you like. When to Hand Out Product Order Sheets And When NOT To Whenever I attend a talk or convention I’m dazzled at how many speakers attach an order sheet for their products to their handout. In most cases, this is the wrong way to do things. You lose control over the timing. I never put the order sheet into peoples’ materials or leave it on the chairs if I am able to avoid it. I don’t need them to have the opportunity to look at things and make up their minds before I would like them to or simply to overlook it. I require the control. If I’m in a little group, I hand them out myself as I say the line : Now here’s the two-minute commercial. I say this as I’m handing out the order sheets one at a time to convention visitors.

If I am in a larger group and have some assistants, I ask them to hand out the order sheets when I give them some kind of a sign. Then, I don’t begin doing my product presentation until just about everyone has an order form in their hands. If you do this quickly and effi- ciently it will work.
You do not want to have people sitting there going over the order sheet for a minute or two until you lead them through what they have just read. Again, you need to control the timing to make this work.
If you are fortunate to give a presentation to a group of over 1,000 people this becomes impractical. You’ll probably have to attach the order sheet to the handout.